This invention is relative to a universal serial bus (USB) connector which can be plugged with both sides.

Universal serial bus (USB) is a transmission protocol which is widely accepted and has been adopted recently. Since USB is characterized by high transmission rate, USB connection ports become necessary for most computers and laptops and the corresponding drivers of USB are also built in those computers and laptops in advance. Besides, because the transmission of USB can be activated by just one plug-and-play step, USB has become the transmission protocol for a variety of electronic devices, such as flash drives, portable hard drives, mp3 players or portable CD-ROM drives. In other words, the USB connector along with its transmission protocol is a must-have unit of the electronic device.

However, the common USB connector can just be plugged on one side, the body and the conductive terminal inside the connector are arranged correspondingly. If the USB connector is inserted upside down, it can not work successfully and may be even damaged. The positive side of the USB connector is usually labeled by a reminder icon to prevent the wrong insertion. But the USB ports of some electronic devices are set in a reverse direction to be complied with the layout of the internal components. Under this condition, the user cannot insert the USB connector successfully following the reminder icon, thereby causing inconvenience.

There are some prior arts about that, US 2006/024997 A1 and WO 2005/013436 A1 also disclose a USB device and connector including a shell and body disposed within the shell. Regarding the above prior arts, if the USB connector is inserted upside down, it cannot work successfully and may be even damaged. Therefore, these prior arts encounter troublesome and inconvenient as the aforesaid problem.

US 6 981 887 B1 discloses a USB receptacle including a bidirectional backplane that permits electrical contacts within the receptacle to slide or move in a direction that is perpendicular to the linear direction of the connector and its connecting cables. An orientation sensor may be used such as a pressure transducer which serves to detect the orientation of the plug with respect to the receptacle. A multi-layer printed circuit board may be used to cross or reverse the pins in the plug, such as D+ to D- and Power to Ground.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an USB connector which can be inserted with both sides for solving the aforesaid problems of the conventional USB connector and increasing user's convenience.

The present invention is provided by appended claim 1. Beneficial embodiments are provided in the dependent claims. In one embodiment of the present invention, a universal serial bus (USB) connector includes a shell, a body and an elastic portion. The body is provided inside the shell and can be moved therein. The body includes a first conductive terminal provided on a first surface and a second conductive terminal provided on a second surface. The elastic portion is connected to both leading edges of the first surface and the second surface for keeping the body in position inside the shell.

The present invention is characterized in that the USB connector comprises an elastic portion which is composed of two parts located on the first surface and the second surface of the body respectively, each of the two parts of the elastic portion comprises a fixation piece and an elastic piece. the fixation pieces are connected to the first surface and the second surface respectively, and each of the elastic pieces is connected with the corresponding fixation piece and enables the body to move inside the shell such that the elastic portion retains the body in position inside the shell by using spring force; wherein the USB connector can be inserted with both sides and electrically connected to the first conductive terminal on the first surface or to the second conductive terminal on the second surface. thereby eliminating concern about plug-in direction to a USB port when connected to an electronic device, such that the USB connector is protected from being inserted in a wrong direction. Further objects, embodiments and advantages are apparent in the drawings and in the detailed description which follows.

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

• FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of an USB connector in the present invention;
• FIG. 2 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the USB connector in the present invention;
• FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the USB connector in the present invention;
• FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of the USB connector of the present invention when plugged into an electronic device;
• FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the USB connector according to one embodiment of the present invention when plugged into an electronic device; and
• FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of the USB connector according to another embodiment of the present invention when plugged into an electronic device.

Referring to the exploded view of FIG. 1, the three-dimensional view of FIG. 2 and the side view of FIG. 3, the USB connector 10 of the present invention includes a shell 101, a body 102 and an elastic portion 103. The body 102 is disposed within the shell 101 and the initial position of the body 102 is located in middle of the shell 101. The body 102 has a first surface 1021and a second surface 1023 which are disposed on opposite side of the body 102. Also, the body 102 has a first conductive terminal 1022 and a second conductive terminal 1024. The first conductive terminal 1022 and the second conductive terminal 1024 are provided on the first surface 1021 and the second surface 1023 of the body 102 respectively. It is noted that the first conductive terminal 1022 and the second conductive terminal 1024 are configured following the technical specifications of the USB transmission protocol, and both of them can be electrically connected to USB port alternatively and operated independently. Besides, the shell 101 is made of metal while the body 102 is made of an insulating material.

In the USB connector 10 of the present invention, the elastic portion 103 is composed of two parts located on both sides of the body 102 respectively. Each of the two parts of the elastic portion 103 has a fixation piece 1031 and an elastic piece 1032. Leading edges of both fixation pieces 1031 are rounded to be an arc profile and connected to the first surface 1021 and second surface 1023 of the body 102 respectively. The elastic piece 1032 is also connected with the fixation piece 1031 and enables the body 102 to move in the space inside the shell 101. The elastic piece 1032 could be flexible foam. It is noted that one with ordinary skill in the art can employ other materials for the elastic piece 1032 as required.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 again, the USB connector 10 further includes an insulating shell 105. The insulating shell 105 covers the shell 101 and could be formed integrally therewith for facilitating the plug-in or pull-out of the USB connector 10.

FIGs. 4 and 5 are respectively a schematic view and a side view of the USB connector according to one embodiment of the present invention when plugged into an electronic device. When the USB connector 10 is being inserted into the USB port 20 of an electronic device, the elastic piece 1032 and the fixation pieces 1031 located in the leading edge of the body 102 contact first with the USB port 20 through the opening as illustrated in FIG. 4. If the conductive pin 201 is provided extending to the level below the USB port 20 as illustrated in FIG. 5, the elastic piece 1032 under the body 102 will be squeezed, and then the fixation pieces 1031 and the body 102 connected with the fixation pieces 1031 will move upward in the shell 101. After the elastic pieces 1032 and the fixation pieces 1031 pass through the conductive pin 201, the elastic pieces 1032 and the fixation pieces 1031 of the body 102 will be held in position within the USB port 20 to make the second terminal 1024 on the second surface 1023 of the body 102 be electrically connected with the conductive pin 201 while the first terminal 1022 on the first surface 1021 of the body 102 will not be conductive comparatively. FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of the USB connector according to another embodiment of the present invention when plugged into an electronic device. On the contrary, if the conductive pin 201 is provided extending to the level above the USB port 20 as illustrated in FIG. 6, the elastic piece 1032 above the body 102 will be squeezed, and then the fixation pieces 1031 and the body 102 connected with the fixation pieces 1031 will move downward in the shell 101. After the elastic pieces 1032 and the fixation pieces 1031 pass through the conductive pin 201, the elastic pieces 1032 and the fixation pieces 1031 of the body 102 will be held in position within the USB port 20 to make the first terminal 1022 on the first surface 1021 of the body 102 be electrically connected with the conductive pin 201 while the second terminal 1024 on the second surface 1023 of the body 102 will not be conductive comparatively..

The USB connector of the present invention has an elastic portion and a body that can be moved up and down, thereby eliminating the concern about the plug-in direction of the USB port when connected to the electronic device. As a result, the users' convenience is significantly improved. Besides, the USB connector is protected from damage due to the incorrect insertion, which is helpful in prolonging the service life of the USB connector.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of what is presently consider to be the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. It is therefore intended by the appended claims to define the scope of the invention.